Leuchars fatal crash 28-08-64

[Flybynight]

Fifty years ago last Thursday I was on duty when Lightning F3 XP704 of 74 Squadron, piloted by the very personable Flt Lt Glyn Owen, flamed out at the top of a vertical climb after one of several high speed, 180 degree turns whilst practising for the Leuchars Air Show and spun in. Sadly, Glyn tried to relight rather than ejecting immediately, which didn't work and when he did try he was too low. Distressingly, his wife stopped the ambulance coming away and collapsed when she saw it was empty. She was treated for shock. RIP then and RIP now.

The incident turned me against station air shows for quite a long time - why, I thought, should combat pilots be asked to risk their lives merely to titillate and entertain the ignorant, gawping public? Two or three weeks later, 'Air Clues' carried a report of the Board of Enquiry into a similar incident involving a Hunter at, I think, Binbrook although I could be wrong at this distance in time.

Meanwhile, later the same day at Leuchars, a Javelin 9 caught fire not far from the WingCo (Flying)'s office window after taxiing too fast (something he could get very angry about) and venting fuel onto hot brakes. A very tall J/T riding in the nav seat for this air test, got caught in his straps and had to be cut free by the pilot. On this occasion, both humans survived but the aircraft was lost. For my part, seeing the plume of black smoke in the distance, I felt sick...

(PS) ...and got p!ssed off-station.

 

[185]

Early 80s saw Mike Thomson off in his mk3 lightning on his way to tee side airport for an air display the next day. On the way he did an impromptu display over Scarborough bay. He over cooked it and crashed in the bay.Great guy rip.

 

[Old Timer Chris]

I was also at Leuchars during the mid seventies and just as we were all packing up the star of the show decided to fly low towards the hangers and then stove it. I watch in horror as the Lightning veered and believe the guy was struggling and almost didn't make it! I for one was glad he did!

 

[Flybynight]

I was also at Leuchars during the mid seventies and just as we were all packing up the star of the show decided to fly low towards the hangers and then stove it. I watch in horror as the Lightning veered and believe the guy was struggling and almost didn't make it! I for one was glad he did!

I'd say, especially if you were in one of them!

There used to be some very silly, wizard prang ole' boy flying by ex-WWII pilots in the early 60s. At Shawbury, apart from the Marshall's of Cambridge pilots flogging piston Provosts round and round doing circuits and bumps for baby controllers and giving basic air experience to ops clks, there was a small group of Poles, still in the Service and mostly of the Master Pilot persuasion, giving advanced air experience in Meteors and Vampires, mostly at the slave aerodrome at Sleap where the boss couldn't see what they were up to. One day at Shawbury we gazed in horror as one of these banked over at 90 degrees and took a Meteor straight between two hangars, for a bet no doubt and immaculately done but scary to watch! On arrival at Bruggen I found it was a regular occurrence for the Sdn Ldr (Ops), who was a chum of the WingCo (Ops), with the SNavO on board to buzz the boss's office in Ops Wing HQ in a Canberra. And then there were the unfortunate lorry drivers on the Autobahn...